The amount of compensatory sweating depends on the patient, the damage that the white rami communicans incurs, and the amount of cell body reorganization in the spinal cord after surgery.
Other potential complications include inadequate resection of the ganglia, gustatory sweating, pneumothorax, cardiac dysfunction, post-operative pain, and finally Horner’s syndrome secondary to resection of the stellate ganglion.
www.ubcmj.com/pdf/ubcmj_2_1_2010_24-29.pdf

After severing the cervical sympathetic trunk, the cells of the cervical sympathetic ganglion undergo transneuronic degeneration
After severing the sympathetic trunk, the cells of its origin undergo complete disintegration within a year.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0442.1967.tb00255.x/abstract

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Left, but not right, one-lung ventilation causes hypoxemia during endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy

Anesth Analg 2000;90:28
© 2000 International Anesthesia Research Society

CARDIOVASCULAR ANESTHESIA

Sequential Changes of Arterial Oxygen Tension in the Supine Position During One-Lung Ventilation

Seiji Watanabe, MD, Eiko Noguchi, MD, Shinichi Yamada, MD, Nobuya Hamada, MD, and Tatsuhiko Kano, MD

Department of Anesthesiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan

Implications: Close observation and prompt counteractions including termination of one-lung ventilation (OLV) are crucial for patients under OLV in the supine position, because life-threatening hypoxemia frequently occurs approximately 10 min after starting OLV, even under 100% oxygen inhalation. The left semilateral decubitus position was as effective as the left lateral decubitus position in avoiding life-threatening hypoxemia during OLV.